ABSTRACT
Higher education serves as a vehicle for social and economic mobility, particularly for Blacks (Gasman, 2008; Harper, Patton, & Wooden, 2009). Historically, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have contributed to this mobility by ushering in the Black middle class and advancing the number of Black degree holders, despite social and academic impediments (Allen & Jewell, 2002; Drewry & Doermann, 2004; Kim, 2002). Today, questions emerge from policymakers and academics about the relevance of HBCUs and their ability to retain and graduate low-income Black men (Riley, 2010). Ironically, this population has the worst statistics nationally regarding college retention and degree attainment. Data from the U.S. Department of Education indicate that over the past 35 years, Black male college graduation rates have not increased more than 5%. Moreover, graduation rates diff er by socioeconomic status (SES), and this gap is exacerbated when race is included. The SES gap is wide between those who earn a college degree: during the past 35 years, 25% of students from low-income families graduated from postsecondary education, 40% of students from middle-income families graduated, and 58% of students from high income families completed degree programs (New Data, 2004). Further, there is a 7% diff erence in graduation rate between Blacks and Whites (BPS:04/09). Given the aforementioned data, it is clear that more attention needs to be paid to low-income college students, and to this end, this chapter focuses on lowincome Black men.
